Just ordered my Printbot Simple Metal. it is my first 3d printer and was well recommended. cant wait for it to come!
The Printbot Simple Metal is a very nice little beginner’s machine.
It’s folded steel plates make it so stiff that I have pushed the speed to 80mm/sec for extrusion moves, and 120mm/sec for non-extrusion moves, and there are still no visible mechanical resonance artifacts on finished surfaces.
It makes very high quality prints, once you get the hang of it.
Enjoy!
I’m sure that you will enjoy it, I certainly have enjoyed mine.
I hear that out of the box it needs some jerk/acceleration calibration hope its not too much trouble.
Great printer! Good luck and have fun.
Very good first choice with great upgrade potential (X-axis upgrade, heated bed, all metal hot end, Simplify3D app etc.). In fact I have some very decent prints made by upgraded Simple Metal kit. (Older samples at http://3dhubs.com/brno/hubs/tom. )
What’s the cost of one. I’m looking at a low cost 3d printer. Any ideas how much can one cost me.
@Archie_DSouza Uncle Google knows: http://www.printrbot.com
@Tomas_Vit , that’s steep for me. If anyone is willing to sell off their old working 3d printer for cheap. I can pick it up. Shipping within US
@Matthew_Del_Rosso I expect that you will find that out-of-the-box, the firmware is setup correctly for the Simple Metal.
Back when I got mine (2014) I did re-flash the firmware just after I assembled the printer, but it is unlikely that the latest assemblies will have firmware issues.
However, one upgrade that is highly recommended is for you to print your own fan shroud like this one:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:367602
This little add-on will significantly improve the quality of your PLA prints by cooling the plastic just underneath the current layer, allowing small details to properly harden before more hot plastic is extruded on top of them. Without this type of fan shroud, the small details in your models tend to end up quite fuzzy.
I found it especially important when printing very detailed Warhammer 40,000 models.
ok thanks I wasn’t to sure about the jerk/acceleration thing but that clears it up. also thanks for the fan shroud I was looking for one for a while and couldn’t seem to find any.
No worries mate.
Another useful upgrade is a fan to cool the top of the extruder and the extruder motor.
You will probably need this for prints that require 2 hours or more. Without it the heat from the nozzle tends to creep up the tube, together with the heat from the extruder motor, and after a while the filament going in the top gets melted before it enters the tube, clogging the top of the tube, and making your print fail.
how could I attach a second fan and where could I buy one ( super new to
this 3d printing stuff )
Adding a fan to cool the top of the extruder is easier than it looks.
All you need is the same fan as the one already used to cool the print, plus some longer mounting screws and something like washers to act as spacers:
http://www.printrbottalk.com/forum/download/file.php?id=6704&mode=view
The red plastic thing on the back of the fan is just decoration. It has no functional purpose - the fan mounts and operates without it. Nothing wrong with adding it on, but it isn’t needed.
A detailed discussion around the need for this type of cooling can be found here:
Simple metal Extruder motor skipping
http://www.printrbottalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6993
Have fun!
ok thanks!